Scottish Executive

Access for Disabled People

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a standard for accessibility to taxis for people with disabilities and whether it has any powers under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 or other legislation that can be used to require a percentage of taxis in each local authority area to be accessible to disabled users.

Peter Peacock: There is no threshold at the moment in relation to the number of taxis operating in Scotland which are accessible for people with disabilities. Nor are there any powers under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 or other legislation at the present time which would provide Scottish ministers with the powers to introduce such a threshold.

  The powers to determine the technical specifications for accessible taxis are contained in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and are reserved to the Westminster Parliament under the terms of the Scotland Act 1998. The 1995 act provisions have not yet been commenced. Once they are commenced, the Scottish Executive will consult widely on the proposals and will introduce the provisions by means of regulations using their powers under section 20 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (as amended by section 39 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995), albeit subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament.

  In the short term, section 10(2) of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 provides local authorities with the discretion to determine what vehicles can operate as taxis in their area. As such, the Scottish Executive has written to councils on two occasions actively encouraging them to consider improving the level of accessible taxis in their area.

Access for Disabled People

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued, or plans to issue, advice to local authorities, similar to that available in England, on the steps to be taken to make taxi services more accessible to disabled people.

Peter Peacock: Executive officials have twice written to local authorities in recent years to update them on progress on the introduction of the taxi provisions contained in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. This is a reserved matter for the Westminster Government and as yet no implementation date for these provisions has been set. In writing to local authorities, we have taken the opportunity on both occasions to encourage them to improve the accessibility of taxis to people with disabilities in advance of the regulations coming into effect and offering advice as to how they could proceed if they decided to do so. There are no immediate plans to send out a further letter although the position will be kept under review.

Agriculture

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why organic egg production is not currently eligible for Farm Business Development Scheme funding given that such funding has previously been available for this type of production.

Ross Finnie: The purpose of the Farm Business Development Scheme (FBDS) is to provide financial support to farming families to create new income generating opportunities, or to expand or improve existing diversified activities, either within or outwith agriculture. As part of this, the FBDS can support diversification into "alternative agricultural production". The FBDS does not support mainstream investments in non-diversified agricultural activities.

  Organic egg production is not considered to be diversification into "alternative agricultural production". Eligible projects under this measure are required to be novel or aimed towards a niche markets e.g. worm farming, or an alpaca enterprise.

  Guidance on the approval of FBDS applications was clarified recently to ensure equity between the treatment of organic and non-organic projects, and this revised guidance is clear that organic egg production is not an eligible measure. Conversion of agricultural land to organic status is supported by the Executive’s Organic Aid Scheme.

Agriculture

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will give a response to the report by the Agriculture and Environment Working Group, Custodians of Change .

Ross Finnie: I have today written to members of the Agriculture and Environment Working Group advising of developments and work in progress. I have also copied this letter to the Convenor of the Rural Development Committee. Copies of my response have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Ambulance Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional work the closure of the accident and emergency services at the old Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh will create for the Scottish Ambulance Service and what additional resources will be provided to deal with any such additional work.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Lothian University Hospitals Trust and the Scottish Ambulance Service have been working closely together to ensure (i) that there is a smooth transition for both emergency and non-emergency ambulance services and (ii) that the impact of the re-location of services to Little France is matched by increased resources should that be necessary to maintain the quality of patient care.

  The Scottish Ambulance Service does not know what additional work will be created for it by this re-location of services. Its planning assumptions are that there will be an increase to the time spent by ambulances in dealing with some accident and emergencies and that there will be an increase in the demand on the service from some patients who may have previously "self-presented" at the old Royal Infirmary. The service will increase its accident and emergency resources in Edinburgh from 1 May 2003 - the date of the transfer of the accident and emergency services to the new location. The performance of the service in the Lothians and elsewhere in Scotland shall continue to be monitored by the service and the Executive.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Chartered Institute of Housing report on anti-social behaviour practices for 2001-02 has been published; what the reasons are for the position on this matter, and what the costs of any delay have been.

Ms Margaret Curran: The annual survey of the use of evictions and anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) by the Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland was published on 13 December 2002. Copies of the survey were placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. Delays were experienced in the production of the 2001 survey due to changes in personnel at the Institute. No costs arose from this delay.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have anti-social behaviour policies and dedicated officers for such policies in place.

Ms Margaret Curran: An audit of Scottish local authorities undertaken by the Sociable Neighbourhood National Co-ordinator indicates that all local authorities have policies in place to deal with anti-social behaviour. To date, 11 authorities have dedicated specialist investigation and enforcement teams, others have multi-agency anti-social behaviour teams or staff with responsibility for anti-social behaviour.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many anti-social behaviour orders (ASBO) have been applied for in each local authority area.

Mr Jim Wallace: ASBOs were introduced by section 19 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and came into effect in April 1999. Information on the number of ASBOs applied for by each local authority in the periods 1 December 1999 to 30 November 2000 and 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2001 is set out in the following table.

  This information is collated by the Chartered Institute of Housing who prepare an annual report on use of ASBOs in Scotland, which is commissioned and funded by the Scottish Executive. Copies of the latest report, Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Anti-Social Behaviour in Scotland: A study of the use of Evictions and ASBOs in Scotland, which was published in December 2002, are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

  ASBOs Applied for by Local Authority

  


Local Authority 
  

1 December 1999 to 30 November 2000 
  

1 December 2000 to 30 November 2001 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

15 
  

9 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Angus 
  

0 
  

2 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

0 
  

0 
  



City of Edinburgh 
  

19 
  

16 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Dundee City 
  

11 
  

10 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

11 
  

1 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

0 
  

1 
  



East Lothian 
  

0 
  

0 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Falkirk 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Fife 
  

5 
  

14 
  



Glasgow 
  

7 
  

5 
  



Highland 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Inverclyde 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Midlothian 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Moray 
  

1 
  

3 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

7 
  

14 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

5 
  

1 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

0 
  

2 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

4 
  

9 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

0 
  

0 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

5 
  

4 
  



Stirling 
  

0 
  

1 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

4 
  

5 
  



West Lothian 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Total 
  

96 
  

100

Anti-Social Behaviour

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average timescale and cost has been for applying for an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) in each year since May 1999

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive commissions an annual report from the Chartered Institute of Housing on use of ASBOs. The latest report was published in December 2002 and is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. The report does not include information on the time taken by local authorities to prepare an ASBO application or the costs incurred.

  Information is available on the time taken for the court to grant or reject ASBO applications. In the period 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2001, eight ASBOs were granted in less than four weeks, 23 were granted in one to three months, 15 were granted in four to six months and 14 were granted in six months or more. In the period 1 December 1999 to 30 November 2000, 14 ASBOs were granted in less than four weeks, 26 were granted in one to three months, seven were granted in four to six months and five were granted in six months or more.

  The Executive has introduced interim ASBOs in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill to provide more immediate protection from anti-social behaviour.

  The Executive has commissioned research from Stirling University to compare the costs of mediation and legal remedies for tackling anti-social behaviour. This is expected to report in spring 2003.

Benefits

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on poverty of paragraph 20342, "Averaging the hours", of amendment 5 of February 2002 to the Department for Work and Pensions’ Decision Makers’ Guide , whereby many seasonal workers will not be able to claim jobseeker’s allowance, and what representations it will make to Her Majesty’s Government on this matter.

Ms Margaret Curran: Amendments to the Decision Makers’ Guide are the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The DWP has informed me that no amendment was made to paragraph 20342 of this guide in February 2002.

Better Neighbourhood Services Fund

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation has been carried out into projects developed with funds from the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund (BNSF).

Ms Margaret Curran: BNSF councils are required to put in place their own arrangements for monitoring and evaluating pathfinder projects. The Executive will also undertake an overall evaluation at the end of the programme.

Central Heating

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the benefits of the central heating installation programme and the Warm Deal were in 2001-02; when a report will be published on this matter, and what benefits from the programme are expected in 2002-03.

Des McNulty: 2001-02 was the first year of the central heating programme. Central heating and insulation were installed in just over 8,500 houses. This led to an increase in the average energy rating (NHER) of the dwellings from 3.1 to 6.6. Those aged 60 or over in the private sector should benefit from annual average savings on fuel bills of over £290. There should be annual average savings of over £350 for local authority and housing association tenants. The measures provided will reduce CO 2  emissions by 19,200 tonnes. The programme has created 150 places to provide employment opportunities for those taking part in the New Deal.

  The Warm Deal insulated over 40,800 homes in 2001-02, bringing the total number of houses improved under the programme since July 1999 to over 128,000. The dwellings benefited from increases in average energy rating (NHER) ranging from 0.9 for tenants of private landlords to 0.4 for housing association tenants. Estimated reductions in annual average fuel bills range from £126 for tenants of private landlords to £30 for tenants of housing associations. CO2 emissions will have been reduced by 28,900 tonnes. The programme provided around 200 places for those taking part in the New Deal. A full report, including case studies, is published today and copies will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

  Local authorities and housing associations will spend around £16 million in 2002-03 and will install central heating in a total of 6,400 homes. Eaga will spend around £14 million this year and will install around 5,400 heating systems.

  The two programmes, particularly the central heating programme, are central to our aim that a warm, dry and affordable home is within the reach of all Scotland’s households. They provide warmth and they tackle dampness, so threats to health from cold and damp are reduced. They tackle fuel poverty. We provisionally estimate that three quarters of pensioner households that have benefited from the central heating programme will no longer be at risk from fuel poverty. More detailed research has been commissioned by the Executive to determine the precise effect on the extent and level of fuel poverty. The programmes also make a significant impact on the effects of climate change by reducing emissions of CO2. They also provide quality training and work experience for those taking part in the New Deal.

  In summary, the central heating programme and the Warm Deal make a real difference to many people’s lives.

Cities

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any merit in Inverness being given status as a separate local authority area within the Highlands and whether it has any plans to review the Highland Council boundary.

Peter Peacock: As stated in the White Paper Renewing Local Democracy: The Next Steps , published in March 2002, there are no plans to review local authority boundaries or the number of councils in the foreseeable future. The Review of Scotland’s Cities published on 9 January 2003 identified that the prospects for Inverness’s future are better than ever before, the city having established itself as the principal administrative and service centre for the Highlands. The wider Highlands benefits by having access to an unrivalled set of services in the region and the city benefits by the local jobs and growth its Highland Capital status brings. There is a clear and strong interdependence between the wider Highlands and the City of Inverness. The Review of Scotland’s Cities made clear that cities can only be successful as part of a successful city-region and emphasised the importance of all city and regional stakeholders working in partnership. Inverness and the wider Highlands has the great advantage of having no artificial administrative boundaries to impede the development of a cohesive city-region. In that context the Scottish Executive has very strongly welcomed the recent establishment by local stakeholders, including Highland Council, of a City Partnership to address the particular needs of Inverness and its relationship with the surrounding region.

Community Care

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown by local authority area of the figures given in its statistics release, Home Care Services, Scotland 2002 .

Malcolm Chisholm: These statistics are too lengthy to include in a reply. I shall write to the member as soon as possible with these detailed statistics and arrange for a copy to be made available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Community Safety

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29399 by Ms Margaret Curran on 1 November 2002, what opportunities citizens will have to make a contribution to the framing of the arrangements with neighbourhood wardens/patrols.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29399 by Ms Margaret Curran on 1 November 2002, whether citizens will have arrangements with neighbourhood wardens/patrols made on their behalf and, if so, whether citizens will have a right to make objections to any such arrangements.

Ms Margaret Curran: We are still considering how warden schemes should be delivered and managed. However, we will expect local people to be consulted about the appropriateness of warden schemes in their neighbourhoods and to be involved in the design, planning and management of schemes.

Community Safety

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the sociable neighbourhood national co-ordinator.

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been carried out by the sociable neighbourhood national co-ordinator.

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the directory of good practice to be developed by the sociable neighbourhood national co-ordinator has been published; if not, when it will be published, and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Sociable Neighbourhood National Co-ordinator (SNNC) is on target to deliver agreed outputs from an action plan developed by the Scottish Executive. In the last year, she has completed an audit of all the local authorities in Scotland and her report will be published shortly. The SNNC is also currently developing a model anti-social behaviour policy; a directory of Legal Options with a costing framework for landlords; a directory of good practice; a good practice guide on anti-social behaviour orders, and a framework for multi-agency working. These will be published this year.

Community Safety

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the aims of the neighbourhood champions are.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Sociable Neighbourhood National Co-ordinator is the only neighbourhood champion reporting directly to the Scottish Executive.   The champion’s role is to work closely with councils to assimilate and disseminate good practice, identify gaps and act as facilitator in assisting councils to develop successful strategies to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Consumer Protection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any representations from credit unions on the proposed European directive on consumer credit.

Des McNulty: The Scottish Executive has received no representations from credit unions on the proposed European directive on consumer credit.

Courts

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30468 by Mr Jim Wallace on 10 October 2002, what stage the discussions between Scottish Borders Council and the Scottish Court Service have reached and when it expects (a) those discussions to be concluded and (b) the consultation paper on the future of sheriff court facilities at Peebles to be issued.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Court Service to respond. His response is as follows.

  The discussions between the Scottish Court Service and Scottish Borders Council on the possible use of the court buildings in Rosetta Road for court purposes are continuing. The Scottish Court Service believes that with appropriate modifications the council buildings could be used for the sheriff court. However, agreement has still to be reached with the council on the modifications required. Alternative options are under examination but it is not possible to say when the discussions will be concluded. Agreement on certain key issues has yet to be reached.

  Since it is hoped that court services can be retained in Peebles, the consultation exercise envisaged previously would only commence if the outstanding issues between the Scottish Court Service and Scottish Borders Council cannot be agreed. If agreement can be reached the means by which the administrative services of the sheriff court would be delivered in Peebles will be subject to discussion with interested parties.

Courts

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional costs have been incurred to the public purse since the closure of Peebles Sheriff Court.

Mr Jim Wallace: No information is held centrally on any additional costs arising since the closure of Peebles Sheriff Court. Given the low level of business transacted in the sheriff court any additional costs are unlikely to be significant.

Credit Unions

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the establishment of a central services organisation for credit unions and what action it can take to help realise such a project.

Des McNulty: The Executive is working with the Scottish Credit Union Partnership on a number of centrally provided support functions for credit unions, including healthchecks and business planning, work on volunteer training and the use of IT. The Executive would be willing to take part in any future discussions at UK level on the possibility of a dedicated central services organisation.

Credit Unions

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered any successor arrangements in respect of the Scottish Credit Union Partnership.

Des McNulty: We have no plans for any successor arrangements for the Scottish Credit Union Partnership.

Credit Unions

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has representation on the National Liaison Group for Credit Unions facilitated by the Unity Trust Bank and the Co-operative Bank and, if not, whether it will seek such representation.

Des McNulty: The National Liaison Group for Credit Unions is an independent body set up by the credit union movement to discuss issues of common interest and to harmonise lobbying strategies on government policy that may impact credit unions. The Scottish Executive does not consider it appropriate for us to seek representation on such a group.

Domestic Abuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government regarding any changes to the one-year probationary rule regarding women that, having entered the UK to be with their husband who is a UK resident, have been subjected to domestic abuse.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including immigration matters.

  The Executive welcomes the announcement by Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes MP on 26 November 2002 that changes to the Immigration Rules will make it easier for those victims of domestic abuse who are still subject to immigration control to stay in the UK without being trapped in an abusive relationship.

  Details can be found on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/.

Dyslexia

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to dyslexia organisations.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has a range of funding programmes available to voluntary organisations, including dyslexia organisations. The Executive is currently funding two specific projects, through the Special Educational Needs Innovation Grants Programme 2002-04, to provide practical support to teachers and parents in the inclusion of children with dyslexia. The Dyslexia Trust have been allocated £102,875 for a project entitled, Count Me In. This project will build on current best practice and will deliver to schools a range of tools and materials in a variety of formats. Dyslexia Scotwest have been allocated £79,356 to finance a Development Officer as part of their Dyslexia Friendly Schools project. These projects aim to improve understanding and develop skills in order that the needs of young people with dyslexia may be better addressed in schools.

Dyslexia

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is appropriate for NHS boards to provide support to dyslexia organisations and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Malcolm Chisholm: Section 16 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, as amended, enables NHS boards to give grant to voluntary organisations subject to certain conditions. It would be for boards to consider whether any application from an organisation dealing with dyslexia met the conditions in section 16.

Elderly People

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the present council tax and water charges discount regimes in respect of properties lived in by elderly people.

Peter Peacock: We have no such plans.

Enterprise

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunities there are for the continued funding of projects that have been assessed as successful at the conclusion of their funding periods under the New Futures Fund.

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking under phase 2 of the New Futures Fund to ensure the effective transition to mainstream or any other source of funding for projects at the conclusion of their funding period.

Iain Gray: Delivery of the New Futures Fund is the responsibility of the Enterprise Networks who are currently assessing the options.

Enterprise

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria Scottish Enterprise uses to assess the success or otherwise of projects funded under the New Futures Fund.

Iain Gray: Projects will be evaluated against the aims and objectives set out in their proposals. In addition, mainstreaming is a key issue in phase 2 together with equality of access by women, minority ethnic communities and people with dual diagnosis e.g. mental illness and drug misuse.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how fishing vessels that fish for different species will be classified for the purposes of the days at sea regulations that allocate different number of days depending on the species caught.

Ross Finnie: Annex XVII of the new total allowable catches and Quota Regulation sets out the provisions of the new effort control (days at sea) regime. It stipulates that days at sea will be derived from the mesh size of the fishing gear carried by particular vessels. The detailed implications of that are likely to feature in the domestic implementing regulations, which are still under consideration.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what will happen if no white fish vessels have been decommissioned by 1 July 2003 under any decommissioning programme introduced and vessels have been fishing for 15 days at sea each month from 1 February until 1 July 2003.

Ross Finnie: Annex XVII of the new total allowable catches and Quota Regulation sets out the provisions of the new effort control (days at sea) regime. Article 6 requires that member states which acquire additional fishing days from the Commission related to decommissioning must report periodically to the Commission on progress made with such decommissioning. The regulation specifies when such reports must be made, but it does not specify a timetable for any associated decommissioning. In practice, the adequacy of the progress made by each of the reporting deadlines would therefore be a matter for discussion between the Commission and member state concerned.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fishing vessels are classified as (a) white fish vessels and (b) in each other category.

Ross Finnie: The following table shows the number of Scottish based vessels and the main vessel fishing method as declared by owners when re-licensing their vessels.

  Active Scottish Based Vessels, by Main Fishing Method and Overall Length Group, 31 December 2001

  


Main Vessel Fishing Method 
  

Vessel Length (Metres) 
  

All Vessels 
  



10m and Under 
  

Over 10m 
  



Demersal (whitefish) 
  

74 
  

473 
  

547 
  



Pelagic 
  

0 
  

36 
  

36 
  



Shellfish 
  

1,571 
  

441 
  

2,012 
  



Total 
  

1,645 
  

950 
  

2,595 
  



  Source: Scottish Fisheries Statistics 2001.

Health

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32545 by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 January 2003, whether it will provide a breakdown by age of the information provided on how many people died within seven days of discharge.

Malcolm Chisholm: The number of people dying within seven days of discharge from in-patient or day case care, and the percentage of all discharges that these cases represent, is shown in the following table:

  Deaths Within Seven Days of Hospital Discharge1, Number and Percentage of Total Discharges; by Health Board Area of Treatment2 and Age Group; May 1999 to April 2002

  

 

May 1999 to April 2000 
  

May 2000 to April 2001 
  

May 2001 to April 2002 
  



Live Discharges Who Died Within 7 Days 
  

Live Discharges Who Died Within 7 Days (%) 
  

Live Discharges Who Died Within 7 Days 
  

Live Discharges Who Died Within 7 Days (%) 
  

Live Discharges Who Died Within 7 Days 
  

Live Discharges Who Died Within 7 Days (%) 
  



Scotland 
  



0-14 
  

11 
  

0.01% 
  

17 
  

0.02% 
  

20 
  

0.02% 
  



15-34 
  

36 
  

0.02% 
  

31 
  

0.02% 
  

41 
  

0.03% 
  



35-54 
  

198 
  

0.08% 
  

167 
  

0.06% 
  

210 
  

0.08% 
  



55-64 
  

308 
  

0.19% 
  

261 
  

0.16% 
  

309 
  

0.20% 
  



65-74 
  

528 
  

0.30% 
  

524 
  

0.29% 
  

546 
  

0.32% 
  



75+ 
  

989 
  

0.56% 
  

996 
  

0.55% 
  

1018 
  

0.57% 
  



All Ages 
  

2,070 
  

0.20% 
  

1,996 
  

0.19% 
  

2,144 
  

0.21% 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  



0-14 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  



15-34 
  

3 
  

0.02% 
  

4 
  

0.03% 
  

3 
  

0.03% 
  



35-54 
  

12 
  

0.07% 
  

8 
  

0.04% 
  

17 
  

0.09% 
  



55-64 
  

34 
  

0.32% 
  

24 
  

0.22% 
  

13 
  

0.12% 
  



65-74 
  

32 
  

0.26% 
  

50 
  

0.40% 
  

48 
  

0.38% 
  



75+ 
  

77 
  

0.54% 
  

81 
  

0.56% 
  

93 
  

0.63% 
  



All Ages 
  

158 
  

0.22% 
  

167 
  

0.23% 
  

174 
  

0.24% 
  




Ayrshire and Arran 
  



0-14 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

2 
  

0.03% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  



15-34 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

2 
  

0.02% 
  

4 
  

0.04% 
  



35-54 
  

12 
  

0.07% 
  

14 
  

0.08% 
  

14 
  

0.08% 
  



55-64 
  

16 
  

0.14% 
  

15 
  

0.13% 
  

19 
  

0.16% 
  



65-74 
  

34 
  

0.27% 
  

35 
  

0.26% 
  

22 
  

0.17% 
  



75+ 
  

57 
  

0.45% 
  

57 
  

0.43% 
  

55 
  

0.40% 
  



All Ages 
  

119 
  

0.16% 
  

125 
  

0.16% 
  

114 
  

0.15% 
  



Borders 
  



0-14 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  



15-34 
  

1 
  

0.03% 
  

2 
  

0.07% 
  

1 
  

0.03% 
  



35-54 
  

1 
  

0.03% 
  

1 
  

0.02% 
  

1 
  

0.02% 
  



55-64 
  

3 
  

0.11% 
  

6 
  

0.23% 
  

5 
  

0.18% 
  



65-74 
  

7 
  

0.21% 
  

5 
  

0.15% 
  

6 
  

0.17% 
  



75+ 
  

19 
  

0.42% 
  

24 
  

0.51% 
  

25 
  

0.53% 
  



All Ages 
  

31 
  

0.16% 
  

38 
  

0.19% 
  

38 
  

0.19% 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  



0-14 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  



15-34 
  

1 
  

0.02% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

1 
  

0.03% 
  



35-54 
  

8 
  

0.13% 
  

3 
  

0.05% 
  

4 
  

0.08% 
  



55-64 
  

13 
  

0.30% 
  

10 
  

0.22% 
  

16 
  

0.43% 
  



65-74 
  

17 
  

0.32% 
  

28 
  

0.51% 
  

24 
  

0.53% 
  



75+ 
  

38 
  

0.65% 
  

37 
  

0.61% 
  

38 
  

0.67% 
  



All Ages 
  

77 
  

0.27% 
  

78 
  

0.27% 
  

83 
  

0.34% 
  



Fife 
  



0-14 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

1 
  

0.02% 
  



15-34 
  

2 
  

0.02% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

2 
  

0.02% 
  



35-54 
  

9 
  

0.07% 
  

8 
  

0.05% 
  

8 
  

0.06% 
  



55-64 
  

8 
  

0.10% 
  

5 
  

0.06% 
  

13 
  

0.16% 
  



65-74 
  

26 
  

0.27% 
  

29 
  

0.29% 
  

25 
  

0.24% 
  



75+ 
  

59 
  

0.54% 
  

69 
  

0.63% 
  

75 
  

0.66% 
  


 
 
 
 
 
 
 



All Ages 
  

104 
  

0.19% 
  

111 
  

0.19% 
  

124 
  

0.22% 
  



Forth Valley 
  



0-14 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

1 
  

0.02% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  



15-34 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

2 
  

0.02% 
  

2 
  

0.02% 
  



35-54 
  

6 
  

0.05% 
  

13 
  

0.10% 
  

7 
  

0.06% 
  



55-64 
  

6 
  

0.09% 
  

8 
  

0.11% 
  

18 
  

0.23% 
  



65-74 
  

31 
  

0.41% 
  

20 
  

0.24% 
  

28 
  

0.32% 
  



75+ 
  

49 
  

0.60% 
  

52 
  

0.60% 
  

46 
  

0.52% 
  



All Ages 
  

92 
  

0.20% 
  

96 
  

0.19% 
  

101 
  

0.20% 
  




Grampian 
  



0-14 
  

1 
  

0.01% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

2 
  

0.02% 
  



15-34 
  

2 
  

0.01% 
  

3 
  

0.02% 
  

3 
  

0.02% 
  



35-54 
  

19 
  

0.08% 
  

17 
  

0.07% 
  

16 
  

0.07% 
  



55-64 
  

20 
  

0.14% 
  

21 
  

0.15% 
  

27 
  

0.19% 
  



65-74 
  

45 
  

0.28% 
  

43 
  

0.26% 
  

34 
  

0.22% 
  



75+ 
  

84 
  

0.49% 
  

74 
  

0.44% 
  

95 
  

0.57% 
  



All Ages 
  

171 
  

0.17% 
  

158 
  

0.16% 
  

177 
  

0.19% 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  



0-14 
  

2 
  

0.01% 
  

9 
  

0.04% 
  

13 
  

0.05% 
  



15-34 
  

9 
  

0.02% 
  

9 
  

0.02% 
  

15 
  

0.04% 
  



35-54 
  

56 
  

0.09% 
  

49 
  

0.07% 
  

64 
  

0.11% 
  



55-64 
  

90 
  

0.23% 
  

88 
  

0.22% 
  

90 
  

0.24% 
  



65-74 
  

128 
  

0.31% 
  

116 
  

0.28% 
  

162 
  

0.40% 
  



75+ 
  

224 
  

0.65% 
  

217 
  

0.61% 
  

220 
  

0.62% 
  



All Ages 
  

509 
  

0.21% 
  

488 
  

0.20% 
  

564 
  

0.24% 
  



Highland 
  



0-14 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  



15-34 
  

2 
  

0.03% 
  

1 
  

0.01% 
  

1 
  

0.02% 
  



35-54 
  

7 
  

0.07% 
  

8 
  

0.07% 
  

10 
  

0.09% 
  



55-64 
  

20 
  

0.34% 
  

14 
  

0.23% 
  

16 
  

0.24% 
  



65-74 
  

24 
  

0.36% 
  

14 
  

0.20% 
  

25 
  

0.34% 
  



75+ 
  

52 
  

0.69% 
  

34 
  

0.43% 
  

38 
  

0.46% 
  



All Ages 
  

105 
  

0.25% 
  

71 
  

0.17% 
  

90 
  

0.21% 
  



Lanarkshire 
  



0-14 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

1 
  

0.01% 
  



15-34 
  

2 
  

0.01% 
  

2 
  

0.01% 
  

5 
  

0.03% 
  



35-54 
  

17 
  

0.07% 
  

12 
  

0.05% 
  

16 
  

0.06% 
  



55-64 
  

23 
  

0.14% 
  

25 
  

0.16% 
  

25 
  

0.16% 
  



65-74 
  

70 
  

0.38% 
  

66 
  

0.39% 
  

65 
  

0.36% 
  



75+ 
  

117 
  

0.71% 
  

113 
  

0.72% 
  

92 
  

0.54% 
  



All Ages 
  

229 
  

0.23% 
  

218 
  

0.23% 
  

204 
  

0.20% 
  



Lothian 
  



0-14 
  

7 
  

0.04% 
  

5 
  

0.03% 
  

1 
  

0.01% 
  



15-34 
  

10 
  

0.04% 
  

5 
  

0.02% 
  

2 
  

0.01% 
  



35-54 
  

36 
  

0.09% 
  

26 
  

0.06% 
  

34 
  

0.09% 
  



55-64 
  

46 
  

0.18% 
  

27 
  

0.11% 
  

37 
  

0.16% 
  



65-74 
  

66 
  

0.25% 
  

78 
  

0.29% 
  

59 
  

0.24% 
  



75+ 
  

122 
  

0.47% 
  

138 
  

0.53% 
  

128 
  

0.51% 
  



All Ages 
  

287 
  

0.17% 
  

279 
  

0.17% 
  

261 
  

0.18% 
  




Tayside 
  



0-14 
  

1 
  

0.01% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

2 
  

0.02% 
  



15-34 
  

4 
  

0.03% 
  

1 
  

0.01% 
  

1 
  

0.01% 
  



35-54 
  

13 
  

0.06% 
  

6 
  

0.03% 
  

19 
  

0.10% 
  



55-64 
  

27 
  

0.21% 
  

16 
  

0.12% 
  

28 
  

0.24% 
  



65-74 
  

43 
  

0.28% 
  

36 
  

0.23% 
  

44 
  

0.32% 
  



75+ 
  

79 
  

0.45% 
  

89 
  

0.50% 
  

91 
  

0.57% 
  



All Ages 
  

167 
  

0.19% 
  

148 
  

0.16% 
  

185 
  

0.23% 
  



Island Boards 
  



0-14 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  



15-34 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  

1 
  

0.06% 
  



35-54 
  

2 
  

0.08% 
  

2 
  

0.07% 
  

0 
  

0.00% 
  



55-64 
  

2 
  

0.14% 
  

2 
  

0.13% 
  

2 
  

0.11% 
  



65-74 
  

5 
  

0.33% 
  

4 
  

0.24% 
  

4 
  

0.22% 
  



75+ 
  

12 
  

0.55% 
  

11 
  

0.45% 
  

22 
  

0.88% 
  



All Ages 
  

21 
  

0.21% 
  

19 
  

0.18% 
  

29 
  

0.25% 
  



  Source: This information was extracted from the Scottish Morbidity Records 1 (SMR01) and death registration linked dataset maintained by ISD Scotland. SMR01 records all in-patient and day case discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric specialties.

  Notes:

  1. Death registrations are obtained from the General Register Office for Scotland (GRO).

  2. Totals have been combined for the health board areas of Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles due to small numbers in each.

Health

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to develop a centralised day or residential patient service for patients of all ages with behavioural or biomedical conditions such as hyperkinetic disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism and, if so, where and in what timescale.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive has no such plans. The provision of services to meet the needs of people with these disorders is a matter for local health and social care organisations.

Health

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what acute specialities will be introduced on an out-patient or day-case basis at the new ambulatory care and diagnostic unit at Stobhill Hospital

Malcolm Chisholm: The £60 million Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic Centre planned for the site of Stobhill Hospital will encompass a full range of diagnostic and imaging services together with facilities to support day surgery for people living in the Stobhill catchment area. A wide range of out-patient and related services will be provided including:

  radiology diagnostics (including ultrasound, CT and MRI);

  nuclear medicine;

  medical day care (diabetes, dermatology etc);

  ophthalmology;

  renal dialysis (28 stations);

  elderly day care;

  cardiological and respiratory investigations;

  cardiac rehabilitation;

  dental services;

  minor injuries unit;

  medical oncology with supportive pharmacy, and

  accommodation for the GP emergency out of hours service and allied health professionals.

  The plans also include a substantially refurbished main theatre block and day surgery unit, which will increase capacity and allow the transfer of some Glasgow Royal Infirmary day surgery activity to Stobhill.

Higher Education

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to secure the continued teaching of Slavonic languages at university level.

Iain Gray: Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and are therefore responsible for deciding the type and levels of subject provision. Ministers have no locus in these decisions.

  The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, working with institutions, seeks to encourage and develop coherent provision of subjects across the sector.

Historic Buildings

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31036 by Dr Elaine Murray on 8 November 2002, when Historic Scotland expects year-round public access to Castle Tioram to be restored.

Dr Elaine Murray: I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:

  Castle Tioram was open to the public until its ownership changed hands in 1997. The question of allowing public access rests with the owner of the monument, not with Historic Scotland. Public access could be restored were consolidation works to the monument to be undertaken and the owner permitted such access.

Historic Buildings

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31027 by Dr Elaine Murray on 8 November 2002, how many of the 66 representations received about the future of Castle Tioram (a) were in favour and (b) objected to the plans put forward to redevelop the castle.

Dr Elaine Murray: I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:

  Of the 66 representations received about the future of Castle Tioram, 62 were in favour and four objected to the plans put forward by the current owners to redevelop the castle.

Historic Buildings

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31031 by Dr Elaine Murray on 8 November 2002, whether consolidation work to arrest any further deterioration of Castle Tioram should take place within the next 12 months in order to protect the castle’s cultural and historical significance.

Dr Elaine Murray: I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:

  The undertaking of consolidation work, at an early date, would be advantageous for the monument. This is a matter for the owner of the monument, who will be aware of which works are most pressing. Historic Scotland would be happy to offer advice and would welcome an application for scheduled monument consent in respect of such consolidation works.

Historic Buildings

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to answer to question S1W-31034 by Dr Elaine Murray on 8 November 2002, what factors Historic Scotland takes into consideration when deciding whether a building can be restored for contemporary domestic use or is too important to the nation to warrant any change.

Dr Elaine Murray: I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to reply. His response is as follows:

  Most listed buildings already have a contemporary use and listed building consent is the process by which necessary changes to allow on-going use are managed. The process is managed primarily by local authorities, with advice as requested, from Historic Scotland. Difficulties arise when listed buildings go out of use. In such circumstances the Scottish ministers’ Memorandum of Guidance on Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas encourages local authorities to display the greatest possible flexibility in considering alterations necessary to ensure a continuing future in a new use. This includes conversion to contemporary domestic use.

  In the case of a scheduled monument it is usually expected that the monument will be conserved in the state in which it is found. Restoration for whatever use, be it domestic, commercial or interpretative is a major departure from this. In assessing any such major intervention, consideration is given to the impact of the proposals on those aspects of the monument which lend it significance. A monument may be so outstandingly important for the evidence it embodies that nothing should be done which might compromise the integrity of that evidence. A monument may also be a significant source of artistic or literary inspiration, or may have particular resonances at a national or local level in its ruined state. The production of a Conservation Plan should identify those aspects of a particular monument’s significance which should be safeguarded. Restoration, for whatever function, is considered acceptable in cases where such an action is compatible with this significance.

Homelessness

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to outlaw the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless families except in emergencies, similar to those announced for England and Wales by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 3 December 2002.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive is committed to reducing the number of households, particularly households with children, living in temporary accommodation including bed and breakfast accommodation. At the end of June 2002 there were 105 families with children temporarily accommodated in bed and breakfast.

  As recommended by the Homelessness Task Force, existing guidance, developed in consultation with COSLA and others, requires councils to identify in their homelessness strategies how they will eliminate the use of bed and breakfast as temporary accommodation for families. The Code of Guidance on Homelessness makes clear that bed and breakfast accommodation should be used only as a last resort.

  The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 introduced a requirement on local authorities to have regard to the best interests of dependent children in exercising their homelessness functions and the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Bill strengthens this reference to make clear that the accommodation provided must be suitable for occupation by such children so far as is consistent with their best interests.

  Through these measures we expect all local authorities to end the use of bed and breakfast for families with children and their progress towards this will be monitored closely.

  We will continue to discuss the delivery of this policy with COSLA and others.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30691 by Dr Richard Simpson on 8 November 2002, what legal advice it received, in preparing amendments to the Extradition Bill, with regard to the removal of the requirement in Scots law of corroboration of the identity of the accused for the implementation of the European arrest warrant.

Mr Jim Wallace: Legal advice was obtained as appropriate to ensure that the bill made it clear that, in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, corroboration was not required in Scotland.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any representations have been made to it on the European Union Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the European arrest warrant and, if so, what representations it has received and from whom.

Mr Jim Wallace: No such representations have been received. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-32404 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search"">http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received concerning the protection afforded by the 110-day rule, or its equivalent, for suspects arrested under a European arrest warrant.

Mr Jim Wallace: Whilst some members have raised in questions and debate the issue of the 110-day rule for suspects arrested under the European arrest warrant, no specific representations have been received on this issue.

Medical Research

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what biomedical research into medical problems such as hyperkinetic disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism it is funding and where any such research is being conducted.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO), within the Scottish Executive Health Department, has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. CSO is currently funding two biomedical research projects on autism. They are being conducted at the University of Aberdeen and Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. In addition, CSO will be contributing £250,000 to the Medical Research Council’s UK-wide programme of research on autism, the strategy for which is currently being developed.

NHS Funding

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much non-recurring funds have been allocated since 1996-97 to Greater Glasgow NHS Board to alleviate delayed discharge from hospital of patients resident in the East Dunbartonshire Council area and how many such patients have been discharged as a result

Mr Frank McAveety: The specific information requested is not available centrally. Allocations are made to health board areas without any specification of how this should be shared with local authority partners.

  Prior to 2000-01, no additional funds were allocated to health boards specifically for delayed discharges. In 2000-01 health boards were allocated non-recurring spend of £19 million which included funds for delayed discharge. This consisted of £10 million announced in February 2001 to address the delayed discharge problem and help reduce shortcomings in the provision of audiology aids, prosthetics and wheelchairs and £9 million released to health boards specifically for delayed discharge, as part of a £60 million allocation for improvements to patient services in Scotland. Greater Glasgow received its share of these allocations based on the Arbuthnott distribution formula in use at the time for NHS resources.

  No other non-recurring funds have been allocated for delayed discharges.

  Discharges attributable to this additional expenditure are not recorded separately.

NHS Hospitals

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the total expenditure spent on the treatment of patients within NHS acute hospitals was spent on treating (a) in-patients, (b) day-cases and (c) out-patients in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is given in Report 310 (Provision of Health Care: Acute), Section 2 (Provision of Health Care) of the Scottish Health Service Costs as detailed in the table. Scottish Health Service Costs are published by the Common Services Agency on www.show.scot.nhs.uk and copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

  Scottish Health Service Costs

  


Year Ended 
  

Bib. Number 
  



31 March 2002 
  

25905 
  



31 March 2001 
  

25165 
  



31 March 2000 
  

25220 
  



31 March 1999 
  

25219 
  



31 March 1998 
  

25218

NHS Hospitals

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been ready for discharge from an NHS hospital but have had their discharge delayed for reasons defined in the census date snapshots provided by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency on patients ready for discharge in each year since September 2000.

Mr Frank McAveety: The member may access this information on the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency website at:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/Joint_futures/delayed_discharges/ready_for_discharges.htm.

NHS Waiting Times

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of out-patients at each NHS acute hospital waited for over 21 weeks before seeing a consultant, broken down by speciality, in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested was placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 25958) on 22 January 2003.

NHS Waiting Times

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds will be allocated to East Dunbartonshire Council and Greater Glasgow NHS Board in each of the next three years to alleviate delayed discharge from hospital of patients resident in the council area

Mr Frank McAveety: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-32998 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search href=" http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search ""> http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  In 2003-04, the amount specifically earmarked for delayed discharges will rise to £30 million across Scotland. This is recurring funding. No decision has yet been made about the distribution of the money for 2003-04, nor about any future years.

Police

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers in each division in Lothian and Borders Police are (a) due to retire and (b) expected to leave the force on medical grounds and how many officers are expected to be recruited in each month from April 2003 to April 2004.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information at this level of detail is not held centrally. It would be for Lothian and Borders Police to provide.

Police

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the minimum number of police officers required per division is in (a) Edinburgh and (b) the Lothian and Borders Police area on a night shift (i) from Sunday to Thursday and (ii) on Friday or Saturday, as defined in the force's risk assessment policy, and on how many occasions these requirements were not met in 2002.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally. It would be for Lothian and Borders Police to provide.

Police

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to attract, recruit and retain special constables.

Mr Jim Wallace: Following recommendations made by a working group of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) in 1996, improvements have been made in the training and deployment of special constables. The eight police forces in Scotland are actively engaged in recruiting special constables. The Executive and ACPOS are also considering the recommendations in the thematic report Narrowing The Gap by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary published in December 2002, on how recruitment and retention of special constables could be further enhanced.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29517 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, how many prisoner complaints were made with regard to medical treatment in prisons in 2002.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Three hundred and forty-one.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30686 by Mr Jim Wallace on 25 November 2002, what the reasons are other than the changing prison population for there being no information available on the number of prisoners that have a mental illness requiring medical treatment.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  No records are held centrally on the number of individual prisoners requiring drug treatment, group therapy or one to one interventions for mental health problems. We have nothing to add to the answer given to question S1W-30686.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30022 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, what difficulties arose in auditing compliance with Standards of Health Care for Prisoners .

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Some of the standards as currently written are difficult to measure compliance against.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30022 by Mr Jim Wallace on 16 October 2002, whether the new standards for health care of prisoners to be completed by March 2003 will enable current performance of health care in prisons to be monitored against those standards.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Yes.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29924 by Mr Jim Wallace on 8 October 2002, whether, as part of the procurement process for prison health care services, any consideration was given to (a) the provision of services by the NHS (b) the provision of services otherwise by the public sector and (c) a not-for-profit service.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Expressions of interest in providing primary care medical services within prisons were sought from a range of providers, including Primary Care NHS Trusts across Scotland.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-21191, S1W-30022 and S1W-30032 by Mr Jim Wallace on 14 January, 16 October and 10 October 2002 respectively, how performance of the contractor to provide primary care medical services in prisons is measured, given that its contract for the provision of primary care medical services in prisons operated by the Scottish Prison Service is to deliver services in accordance with the Scottish Prison Service’s Standards of Health Care of Prisoners and that these standards have not been audited since 1999.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service’s medical services contract monitoring group meets regularly to review performance against the contract which contains a number of output measures. The contract will be published and a copy placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Rail Network

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific benefits are expected to accrue to the Banff and Buchan parliamentary constituency as a result of its announcement on 17 December 2002 regarding investment in the railways.

Lewis Macdonald: Whilst the national rail network does not run into or through the Banff and Buchan parliamentary constituency, travellers from that constituency do make use of the rail network from Aberdeen station. The announcement on 17 December 2002 will result in tightening ScotRail’s performance targets for a more reliable service as well as new trains operating on the Aberdeen to Edinburgh and Glasgow routes, which will provide passengers with a better quality of journey experience.

Road Accidents

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many drivers (a) were tested and (b) tested positive for drink driving in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area, showing separately figures for the Christmas festive period and giving percentage changes between years in each case.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information held centrally relates to breath tests of drivers involved in injury road accidents. The latest available statistics are published at Table 19 in Road Accidents Scotland 2001 , a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Centre (Bib. number 85156). Information on the number of positive breath tests carried out as part of festive drink drive campaigns is compiled by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland. This information is given in the following table:

  Positive Breath Tests Recorded During Drink Drive Campaigns Over the Christmas Festive Period, 1998-99 to 2002-03

  


Force 
  

1998-99* 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  

2002-03 
  

% Change 2001-02 to 2002-03 
  



Central 
  

62 
  

27 
  

n/a 
  

50 
  

35 
  

-30 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

38 
  

17 
  

n/a 
  

18 
  

25 
  

39 
  



Fife 
  

51 
  

42 
  

n/a 
  

49 
  

61 
  

24 
  



Grampian 
  

116 
  

76 
  

n/a 
  

52 
  

52 
  

0 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

163 
  

123 
  

n/a 
  

127 
  

140 
  

10 
  



Northern 
  

95 
  

61 
  

n/a 
  

68 
  

62 
  

-9 
  



Strathclyde 
  

362 
  

270 
  

n/a 
  

413 
  

310 
  

-25 
  



Tayside 
  

81 
  

63 
  

n/a 
  

64 
  

60 
  

-6 
  



Total 
  

968 
  

679 
  

n/a 
  

841 
  

745 
  

-11 
  



  Source: Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.

  Note:

  *Campaign in 1998-99 was 39 days in duration, following years were all 28 days.

Shipbuilding

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32743 by Iain Gray on 6 January 2003, who attended the meeting of the Clyde Shipyards Task Force on 2 December 2002 and which organisations they represented.

Iain Gray: The bodies represented at the meeting held on 2 December 2002 were Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, CSEU Scotland and GMB, BAE SYSTEMS Marine, JobCentre Plus, DTI, Scotland Office, Glasgow City Council, STUC and the Scottish Executive. A list of members is given on page 16 of the Clyde Shipyards Taskforce Report (published in 2002), a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 18984).

Social Inclusion

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it is introducing in order to enhance capacity-building and self-sufficiency in communities in Paisley and improve social inclusion in such communities.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive and Communities Scotland are funding various initiatives in Paisley to enhance community capacity building and self-sufficiency in order to make progress towards social inclusion among communities.

  For example, over the next two years the social inclusion partnership (SIP) has committed in excess of £650,000 to fund a range of projects that will engage with SIP residents, gather information and feedback.

  Under the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund Renfrewshire Council is running a number of projects aimed at enhancing capacity building and self-sufficiency in Paisley. These include the provision of additional computer-based learning packages, flexible learning sessions and computer-led and internet courses in the Community Learning Centre, Shortroods.

  Many of the activities funded by Communities Scotland through the Wider Role programme are also aimed at enhancing community capacity building and self-sufficiency.

Social Inclusion

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to tackle financial exclusion.

Des McNulty: Specific action by the Executive includes providing an additional £3 million to increase the number of money advisers in Scotland and £500,000 for increased central support for money advice including training, information and quality assurance. The Executive has also allocated £1.5 million over three years to help credit unions with capacity building, to extend their membership and the services they offer. The Executive is also working with parties in the financial sector and others to encourage the development of new and alternative means to deliver financial services as well as ensuring existing services are accessible to people at risk of financial exclusion.

Social Inclusion

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of basic bank accounts opened since accounts were introduced and what steps it can take in conjunction with banks to encourage a greater uptake and range of services for people on low incomes.

Des McNulty: Treasury figures suggest that there were over 5.4 million basic bank accounts at the end of June 2002. This is an increase over the figure of 3.3 million at the end of 2000. However, an estimated 3.5 million adults in the UK still do not have a bank account. The Executive has regular discussions with the Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers to explore what can be done to provide more appropriate and accessible products and to encourage a greater uptake of services, such as basic bank accounts.

Social Inclusion

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage provision of low cost insurance products for those on low incomes.

Des McNulty: The Executive has been working closely with the insurance industry and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in recent months on the issue of flood cover. The Executive welcomes the statement from the ABI that its members will continue to provide flood insurance to homes and businesses on flood plains. The Executive looks forward to a positive and constructive relationship in the future so that affordable insurance remains widely available.

Textile Industry

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to assist the textile industry.

Iain Gray: We established the Scottish Textile Forum in June 2000 to develop measures to support the textile sector and to provide an opportunity for regular consultation on issues facing the Scottish textile industry. The Scottish Textile Forum launched a three-year action plan for the sector in January 2001. Scottish Textiles is the team within Scottish Enterprise responsible for delivery of the plan and good progress is being made, for example, on training, industry image and marketing/brand development.

Water Fluoridation

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications would be of introducing fluoride into public water supplies, with specific regard to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Malcolm Chisholm: Any such implications would depend on the precise nature of any scheme which might be proposed.

  Water fluoridation is one of the options on which views are sought in our current consultation paper Towards Better Oral Health in Children, and, as stated previously, the Executive is neutral on this particular issue.

Water Fluoridation

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal advice it has received about whether any judgements from (a) Scottish or (b) other UK courts would prevent introduction of fluoride into public water supplies.

Malcolm Chisholm: The legality of any approach to the question of water fluoridation would depend on the precise nature of any scheme which might be proposed.

  Water fluoridation is one of the options on which views are sought in our current consultation paper Towards Better Oral Health in Children, and, as stated previously, the Executive is neutral on this particular issue.

Young Offenders

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of inmates in young offenders institutions are prescribed Ritalin and/or other neuroleptic and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is not available.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Presiding Officer what the total cost is of the building and facilities that are being provided for the press and media in Holyrood; whether any contribution is being made by media companies towards that capital cost, and whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has any plans to charge commercial rents for space in the building.

Sir David Steel: A rough estimate of the cost of the accommodation that the media will occupy in the new building at Holyrood amounts to approximately £9.7 million. I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that media companies are not presently contributing to the capital cost of the construction of the new building but one organisation has agreed to pay for late changes made to the specifications that the organisation itself instigated. Broadcasters will also contribute towards elements of the fit-out costs relating to specific communication requirements they have requested. There are at present no plans to charge commercial rent to media companies at Holyrood.